Photograph albums for holding and displaying photographic prints having "notched tabs," or "leaves," attached to one side edge of the photograph are known. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,183,296 to Policht, discloses a photograph album including a U-shaped binder having first and second movable retainers which include a pair of outwardly extending tabs for engaging corresponding slots on each end of the leaves attached to the photographs. U.S. Pat. No. 3,116,738 to Wentges discloses a photograph album having leaves holding photographs with fastening edges stacked together, and an elastic band securing the leaves together by fitting into slots located on either end of the leaves.
The "leaves" or "tabs" (hereinafter "tabbing strips") are the means by which the individual photographic prints are mounted in the above-described photograph albums. Conventional methods require that the tabbing strips be applied individually, by hand, with no objective means for accurately or consistently aligning the tabbing strip with the photographic print to which it is applied. The result is that tabbing strips frequently are not properly aligned with the edges of the photographic print to which they are applied. When the misaligned tabbed photographic prints are mounted in the photograph album, the edges of the prints are not in alignment, thereby increasing the possibility of damage to those prints.
Moreover, there are a multitude of people in a plurality of locations producing the above-described photograph albums and manually applying tabbing strips to photographic prints. Currently there are no means of maintaining consistency among the tabbed photographic prints or photograph albums produced. In order to maintain the highest possible quality of photograph album, it is necessary to consistently align the tabbing strips with the photographic prints so that they may be neatly and accurately mounted in the photograph album.
Accordingly, there exists a need in the photographic industry for an apparatus and method for accurately, efficiently, and consistently aligning a tabbing strip with the edges of the photographic print to which it is to be applied.